Material treating apparatus



July 7, 1931. c, CHASE 1,813,728

MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 19, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Rgwuwntoc Cwztis D. Chaw awozwaq of July 7, 1931. c. D. CHASE MATERIALTREATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 19, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 7, 1931. c.D. CHASE 1,813,728

MATERIAL TREATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 19, 1927 I5 Sheets-Sheet 5'INVENTOR. 61/135 ,0 Chase Patented July 7, 1931 ETE STATES 1 CURTIS D.CHASE, F ALLSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CHASE HOLDING COR-PORATION, A C'ORCPORATIQN OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MATERIAL TREATING- APPARATUS Application filed October 19 This inventionrelates to material treating apparatus and more particularly to thattype of apparatus knownas hot mix plants for mixing bituminous concrete,such as asphalt or tar, with sand and stone for the construction andmaintenance of bituminous roads and bituminous floors. As is well knownto those familiar with the art, bituminous material, and more especiallyasphalt and tar, must be in a fluid condition for efficient use, and inorder to maintain this condition, it is necessary to heat the materialto the melting point or above and maintain it at a heated temperatureuntil ready for use. Otherwise, there is a decided tendency for theasphalt to cool and solidify, making it exceedingly difficult to handleor mix with other materials prior to layin It is therefore one of theobjects of the present invention to provide a portable, selfcontainedhot mix plant particularly adapted for the use above described.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the above generalcharacter of compact and simple construction, which will be asubstantially complete and self-contained unit.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the above generalcharacter with simple and practical means for heating the bituminousmaterial and the aggregate with which it is mixed, wherein the materialsmay be most rapidly and efiiciently treated.

A further object is to provide an apparatus, such as above described,having relatively few parts, and which may be inexpensively manufacturedand assembled.

Other objects will be in part obvious fromthe annexed drawings and inpart hereinafter indicated in connection therewith by the followinganalysis of this invention.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of parts and in the unique relation of the members and inthe relative proportioning and dis- "positioning thereof, all as morecompletely IOllS modifications in structure and relation 1 1927. SerialNo. 227,329.

contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form ofthe invention have been annexed as part of this disclosure, and in suchdrawings, like characters of reference denote corresponding partsthroughout all of the views, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation, moreor less diagrammatic, and showing in section or dotted lines the variousessential features entering into the construction;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the parts shownin'Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a detail in section, taken near one end of the apparatus,showing the inlet and outlet passages.

Fig. 4: is a partial section along lines 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail and more particularly to Figure 1, 5indicates a supporting frame, preferably an automobile chassis, mountedfrom wheels 6 and driven by any suitable source of power, such as the.automobile engine, whereby the entire apparatus may be convenientlytransported from one place to another, as necessary.- The drivingmechanism of the automobile is not shown except for the power take-oilor stub shaft 7 the purpose of which willbe later described. Mountedupon the frame of the chassis, is a main combustion chamber 8 of generalrectangular construction and preferably lined with fire brick. One ormore sources of heat, such as indicated diagrammatically by the fuel oilburners 10, are located. at the forward or front end of this chamber todirect their flame rearwardly. These burners are supplied from a fuelsupply tank 11 at one side ofthe combustion chamber. This form ofheating means may be of an desired t io and the details of .V ll

construction thereof are immaterial for the purpose of description.

The upper part of this combustion cham-' ber 8 is enclosed by aninverted U-shaped hood 12 as shown more clearly in Fig. 2 thereby tohouse a rotatable cylindrical drum 13 mounted upon a shaft 14 journaledin front and rear supports 9 and held in position on the shaft by endspiders 15. Intermediate spiders may be provided if necessary, dependingupon the size of the drum or cylinder 13 and the load which it isadapted to carry. The interior of the drum is provided with a materialadvancing means preferably in the form of a continuous spiral vane 16,thereby to gradually convey the material to the discharge end thereof.

Mounted above the hood 12 and combustion chamber 8 are saddle tanks 17comprising two longitudinally extending compartments spaced by a centerwall 17 and which are slightly spaced from the hood 12, yet aresufficiently close thereto to absorb heat from the combustion chamberwithout danger of carbonizing or burning the material contained therein.These tanks are preferably filled with bituminous material, such asasphalt, and are provided with hinged cover plates 18. It will also benoted that the lower legs of these tanks 17 are provided withcylindrical flues 20 open at their forward ends and connecting at theirrear ends with inwardly directed outlets 21, passing thru the walls ofthe tanks 17 and hood 12 and delivering to the rear of combustionchamber 8. At the forward ends, the fines 20 are provided with fueloil'burners 22, as shown in Fig. 1, similar to the burners 10 andsupplied from the same sources of fuel and air. Thus, the flame andproducts of combustion pass thru the tubes 20, out thru the extensionflues 21 and into the combustion chamber where they mix with the flameand products of combustion from the burners 10. The combined stream ofcombustion products then returns thru the drum 13, and performs twofunctions, namely, that of heating the bituminous 'material or asphaltwithin the tanks 10 to a suflicient temperature to maintain them influid condition, and on exhaust, assist in heating the drum 13 and theaggregate, such as sand and stone, passing therethru. The

products of combustion from both sets of burners finally pass thru thefront open end 19 of the mixing drum 13 in intimate contact with thematerial feeding therethru but in an opposite direction, and thence outthru a flue 23 and stack 24.

The flue 23 embraces a relatively large portion of the forward open endof the drum,

while the remaining portion is blocked off by means of theinlet hopper25 receiving the sand and crushed stone to be fed into the measure forproperly proportioning the sand,

for example, to be fed to a pugmixer 30 positioned immediately beneaththe said discharge spout. In other words, the sliding closure 28 when inclosed position, will permit the accurate measuring of a'predeterminednumber of pounds of sand, for example, which may be discharged into thepug mixer by merely raising the part 27 upwardly to its dotted lineposition, or if preferred, the closure 28 may be opened allowing thesand to directly fall into some other mixing or measuring device.

This pug mixer which may be of any desired type preferably comprises twoshafts 31 geared to each other, whereby the paddles carried by theseshafts rotate in opposite directions. The shafts are driven by beveledgearing meshing with a gear 32 fixed on a drive shaft 33 provided withan intermediate clutch 34, shaft 33 being connected in any desiredmanner, as by means of sprocket chain 35, to the take-off shaft 7.Likewise, a second chain and sprocket mechanism 36 drives a sprocket 37upon one end of the shaft 14, thereby to rotate the heating drum 13.

At the rear of each of the legs of the saddle tank 17, there is provideda tap-off or outlet 38 thru which the melted asphalt or bituminousmaterial may be withdrawn. The tap-ofl s are located rearwardly of andadjacentthe bent flues 21, so that material to be drawn off is in ahighly fluid condition. There is also provided a discharge spout 40beneath the pug mixer, whereby the contents thereoi may be distributeddirectly upon the roadway.

While the operation of this device is doubtless well known to thosefamiliar with the art, it may be briefly described as follows. Assumingthe tanks 17 to be filled with bituminous material or asphalt from asuitable source of main supply, the burners 22 are started to maintainthe same in a heated and fluid condition if atmospheric conditions ordistance from the place of use require. These burners also aid inheating the mixing drum 13, and the products of combustion pass out thruthe stack 24. hen the unit arrives at the place of use where the asphaltis to be mixed with sand, crushed stone or other material, the burner 10is started and thus heats the mixing drum 13 to a relatively highertemperature, the products of combustion from all of the burners passingback thru drum 13 and out thru the stack 24.

When it is ready to mix the materials, the clutch mechanisms areactuated, whereby the shaft 14 is rotated as well as the pug mixermechanism. The sand or other materials are fed into the hopper 25 and arengaged by the helical vane 16 within the drum 13, there by toprogressively feed the same towards the rear end. of the mixer againstthe return stream of the products of combustion. In this manner, theaggregate isheated to a high temperature, and when the measuring device27 has been filled, this is dumped into the pug mixer byraising the sameto the dotted line position. The desired quantity of melted asphalt isthen drawn off thru the cook 38 and delivered to the mixer -30, whereall of the materials are thoroughly mixed, after which they aredischarged thru the chute 40 directly upon the roadway. This operationis repeated in a substantially continuous manner as the unitprogressively moves along the road.

From the above, it will be seen that the apparatus as a wholecontemplates a compact, self-contained unit particularly adapted for usein road construction. Its operation may be considered substantiallycontinuous and progressive, thereby rendering the same highly efficientin operation. In View of the fact that there are relatively few parts,the complete apparatus may be inexpensively manufactured and assembled.

No attempt has been made to illustrate and describe various minordetails of the apparatus, for these will be apparent to those familiarwith the subject. The compartment 41, for example, at the right of thechassis in Fig. 2, may be utilized for carrying tools, spare parts oreven a small air compressor (not shown) for supplying compressed air tothe fuel oil burners, which may be driven from an independent engine ora chain and sprocket drive connected with the stub shaft 7 or shaft 33.

vVithout further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthis invention that others can by applying current knowledge readilyadapt it for various applications without omitting certain featuresthat, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention,and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of thefollowing claims.

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, asupporting frame, a combustion chamber mounted thereon, a materialfeeding drum mounted in said chamber, a source of heat in saidchamberfor heating the drum and from which theeizhaust products ofcombustion are adapted to return through the drum, and openings at oneend of said drum, thru one of which-the ma terial to be heated isadapted to be fed and thru the other of which the products of combustionare adapted to exhaust from the drum.

2. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, in combination, asupporting frame,

a combustion chamber mounted thereon, a.

material feeding drum mounted in said cham ber, a source of heat in saidchamber for heating the drum and from which the exhaust products ofcombustion are adapted to return through the drum, openings at one endof said drum, thru one of which the material heated is adapted to be fedand thru the other of which the products of combustion are adapted toexhaust from the drum, and additional sources of heat outside of saidcombustion chamber adapted to direct the products of combustion to saidcombustion chamber and thru the said drum.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, acombustion chamber, a source of heat mounted at one end of said chamber,a material feeding drum mounted in said chamber and subjected to theproducts of combustion from said source of heat, a tank surrounding saidchamber adapted to contain material to be heated, heating finesextending through said tank, sources of heat directly associated withsaid flues and passages leading from said fines to said combustionchamber, whereby the products of combustion from said sources of heatare discharged into said chamber.

4%. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, acombustion chamber, a material feeding drum mounted therein thru whichmaterial to be heated is adapted to .beprogressively fed, a source ofheat in said chamber, the products of combustion from which are adaptedto pass thru said drum in a direction counter to that of thematerial'fed thcrethru, a tank enclosing the upper part of said chamber,individual sources of heat for heating the contents of said tank, andmeans for conducting the products of combustion from said last namedsources of heat to said combustion chamber.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, arotatable drum thru which material to be heated is adapted to beprogressively fed, means in said drum for causing the material to bemoved along the drum as the same is rotated, and a discharge spout forreceiving the contents of the drum, said spout including a portionconstituting a measuring device for the material received therein.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, amaterial feeding drum thru which heated material is adapted to beprogressively fed, means in said drum for causing the material to bemoved along the drum, and a discharge spout for receiving the contentsof the drum, said spout having a pivotally mounted, closed receptacleadapted to receive and measure the material to be heated and tosubsequently discharge the same when moved about its pivotal mounting.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, arotatable drum thru which material to be heated is adapted to be fed,means for heating the material as it is'fed thru said drum, dischargespout for receiving the contents of said drum after being heated, saidspout having a portion constituting a measuring device for the materialreceived therein.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, amaterial feeding drum thru which material to be heated is adapted to befed, means for heating the material as it is fed thru said drum, adischarge spout for receiving the contents of said drum after beingheated, and a measuring device directly associated with said spout andcomprising a hinged portion having a normally closed outlet, whereby thematerial measured therein may be discharged from said hinged portionwhen the same is moved about its hinge connection.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, amaterial feeding drum thru which material to be heated is adapted to befed, means for heating the material as it is fed thru said drum, adischarge spout for receiving the contents of said drum after suchheating, a measuring device directly associated withsaid spout andcomprising a hinged portion having a normally closed outlet, whereby thematerial measured therein may be discharged from said hinged portionwhen the same is moved about its hinge connection, and a mixing deviceadj acent the discharge spout adapted to receive the heated material.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, aportable frame having a combustion chamber mounted thereon, a mixermounted adjacent one end of said chamber, tanks for containing fluidmaterial arranged about said chamber, heating flues extending throughsaid tanks, a

conveyor within the chamber thru which the aggregate to be heated isprogressively passed, and means to discharge the fluid contents and theaggregate into said mixer.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, aportable frame having a combustion chamber mounted thereon, a mixermounted adjacent one end of said chamber, tanks for containing fluidmaterial arranged about said chamber, heat ing fiues extending throughsaid tanks, a conveyor within the chamber thru which the aggregate to beheated is progressively passed, means to discharge the fluid contentsand the aggregate into said mixer, and independent heating meansassociated withsaid flues and with said heating chamber.

12. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, in combination, aportable frame having a combustion chamber mounted thereon, a mixermounted adjacent one end of said chamber, tanks for containing fluidmaterial arranged about said chamber, heating flues extending throughsaid tanks, a conveyor within the chamber through which the aggregate tobe heated is progressively passed, independent heating means associatedwith said flues and said heating cham her, and means for uniting theproducts of combustion from said two independent sources of heat andconducting them over the aggregate in a direction counter to that of theaggregate passing thru said conveyor.

13. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, aportable frame having a combustion chamber mounted thereon, a materialfeeding drum within the chamber, a tank adjacent said chamber adapted tocontain fluid material, a heating flue extending through said tank, amixer adjacent the discharge end of said drum for receiving thematerials discharged from said tank and drum, independent sources ofheat comprising burners directly associated with said combustion chamberand with said fines, and a flue outlet communicating with saidcombustion chamber whereby the products of combustion from the burnersassociated with the tanks may combine with the products of combustion inthe combustion chamher and be discharged thru said drum, said drumhaving a stack at its forward end for exhausting the products ofcombustion.

14. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, aportable frame having a combustion chamber mounted thereon, a materialfeeding drum within the chamber, a tank adjacent said chamber adapted tocontain fluid material, heating fiues extending through said tank,independent sources of heat comprising burners directly associated withsaid combustion chamber and said fines, fiue outlets communicating withsaid combustion chamber whereby the products of combustion from theburners associated with thetanks may combine with the products ofcombustion in the combustion chamber and be discharged thru said drum,said drum having a stack at its for-' ward end for exhausting theproducts of combustion, an inlet hopper for receiving the materials tobe heated in said drum, and a mixer at the opposite end of said drumadapted to receive and mix the heated materials discharged from .thedrum and tank.

15. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, .acombustion chamber, a source of heat therefor, a material conveyingmeans extending thru said chamber and subjected on allsides to the heatfrom said heat source, a tank extending about a portion of said chamberand adapted to contain other material to be heated, heating means forsaid tank, and passages leading from saidheating means to said chamber,whereby the products of combustion from said heating means pass intosaid chamber.

16. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, acombustion chamber, a source of heat therefor, material conveying meansextending thru said chamber and subjected to the heat from said heatsource, the products of combustion from the heat source being adapted topass thru said conveying means in a direction counter to that of thematerial fed therethru, .a tank extending about a portion of saidchamber and adapted to contain other material to be heated, heatingmeans for said tank, and passages leading from said heating means tosaid chamber, whereby the products of combustion from said heating meanspass into said chamber and thru the conveying means.

Signed at Washington, D. (1., this 9th day of September, 1927.

CURTIS D. CHASE.

